Police arrested three men suspected in shootings and another for alleged illegal possession of a firearm in recent days, officials said Monday, but none for the mass-casualty shooting that left one person dead and five others injured Saturday. One of the men arrested in connection with a shooting and another for an alleged home invasion were said to be fugitives from courts on the mainland.
Police confirmed one of the people shot at the former Embers Guest House on St. Thomas was in critical condition, and four others, a woman and three men, had been grazed by bullets fired by an unknown assailant. Police had not released the identity of the deceased as of Monday evening.
Also on Saturday, police arrested 34-year-old Kennedy Pascal for allegedly discharging several gunshots into the air in the Hospital Ground area of St. Thomas in September. Pascal was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm within 1,000 feet of a school or community center, reckless endangerment, and other felonies. Police said video footage showed Pascal and another man shooting at the sky on Sept. 28.
Pascal was held on $25,000 bail pending further court action.
In December 2022, police charged Pascal with shooting at another man in the Cassi Hill area. Charges of assault, unlicensed possession of a firearm, and other felonies were dropped in November 2023. Pascal had been charged with at least two other felonies dating back to 2012.
On Friday, police apprehended Miguel Brooks, 30, who was suspected in the March 10 shooting at Savanero Restaurant on St. Thomas. Police said an armed person approached the victim and his girlfriend, discharging multiple rounds at the victim. Despite sustaining multiple gunshot wounds, the victim was able to seek medical treatment at the Roy L. Schneider Regional Medical Center.
Brooks was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. His bail was set at $100,000.
Also on Friday, detectives of the Virgin Islands Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Bureau arrested 24-year-old Malachi E. Abramson and charged him with fugitive from justice. United States Customs and Border Protection at the Cyril E. King Airport spotted and detained Abramson, who was wanted by the Bell County, Texas Sheriff’s Office in relation to a December 2023 homicide in South Temple, Texas. Abramson had been released as police gathered evidence, according to local reports.
Another alleged fugitive from justice, Lazon W. Phillip, was arrested at the Milton Newton Basketball Court in Estate Bordeaux, St. Thomas, on Saturday. Phillip was wanted in Georgia for false imprisonment, home invasion, cruelty to children, theft, battery, and obstructing a person attempting to make an emergency call, according to court records. Phillip had been charged with domestic violence-related assault on St. Thomas in 2009.
On Thursday, police in Frederiksted stopped a gold Chevy S-10 pickup being operated without a front license plate. Upon reaching the driver’s side window, the officer smelled a strong odor of marijuana emanating from inside of the vehicle. The driver, Michael A. Smith, 32, was advised that he would be searched for weapons. A pat down revealed a black handgun tucked in Smith’s waistline, police said. The handgun was loaded with 12 live rounds and one round chambered. It had an obliterated serial number.
A search of the vehicle yielded a .22 rifle loaded with five live rounds, police said. Smith does not have a license to possess or carry a firearm.
Smith was arrested and charged with carrying an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition. His bail was set at $50,000.00.
